World's Richest Man to Pay U.S. Civil Servants? Musk Says He's Willing to Pay Salaries for TSA Security Officers

Caixin, March 22 (Editor: Ma Lan) The U.S. Congress is deadlocked over funding for the Department of Homeland Security due to immigration issues, leading to a government shutdown that affects the normal operations of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Currently, TSA staff are significantly absent due to unpaid leave, causing chaos at American airports, with some security lines exceeding 3 hours. The most affected airports include Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has proposed to pay TSA security personnel during their unpaid strike to prevent disorder at airports and mitigate the negative impact on many Americans’ lives.

Rough estimates suggest that if Musk’s promise is fulfilled, he could be paying over $40 million weekly to officials. However, analysts point out that only the U.S. government has the legal authority to pay federal employees, and federal agencies cannot accept private donations for salaries.

Severe Impact The budget deadlock at the Department of Homeland Security has lasted five weeks. A senior union leader of TSA warned on Thursday that, given the agency has been under a hiring freeze since last year, a government shutdown would further worsen airport security risks.

Airlines and travel groups have stated that the absenteeism rate among approximately 50,000 TSA security personnel could rise again by the end of this week.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, at least 376 security officers have resigned completely since the government shutdown began on Valentine’s Day, exacerbating the agency’s staffing issues. TSA has historically had one of the highest turnover rates and lowest morale among U.S. government agencies.

Acting TSA Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl further warned that if the shutdown continues, some airports could close within weeks, especially smaller airports.

The timetable for DHS funding remains unclear. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Friday that bipartisan negotiators have narrowed the remaining disputes over DHS funding but have not yet reached a final agreement.

Meanwhile, President Trump threatened that if Democrats are unwilling to fund DHS, he will deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports and implement unprecedented security measures.